Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
May 1, 2008 issue
Mountain Quest Summer Camp: “No Child Left Indoors”
Two Week-Long Camp Sessions Offered in June
Story by Celeste von Mangan
Nature Deficit Disorder is a syndrome affecting children that is rapidly becoming an epidemic in this country, according to authors, physicians, researchers, teachers and parents. The time children spend down at the creek, run barefoot through meadows and explore natural habitats is on the decline. But a program offered through the Blue Ridge Learning Centers is designed to reconnect children to the natural world.
Mountain Quest is a day camp with a no-child-left-indoors theme. Mountain Quest will have two sessions for children ages 9 to 12 that will include rock climbing, hiking, team building, stream ecology, primitive skills and camping. The first session starts on Monday, June 9, and ends on Saturday, June 14, while the second session begins on Monday, June 23, and ends on Saturday, June 28.
“On a basic level, this camp is providing a range of activities for students to try their hands at,” said Lloyd “Dingo” Brown, director of Mountain Quest Summer Camp. “They can do all of this in a safe, controlled environment and hopefully find something that they really like and would want to pursue more later on.”
Brown pointed out that many adults and children are indoors all day, sitting at computers and in front of the television.
“This is starting to cause many social, emotional and behavioral problems, as well as physical problems like obesity in children,” he said. “We need to get more children outdoors for exercise but more importantly, in situations where they can interact socially in a safe environment. I have found that the natural environment is a neutral playing field for children. Everyone kind of starts at the same place, no matter what their background.”
And different backgrounds are something Brown knows a bit about. Originally from Australia, he has lived in numerous countries besides the United States—his current home with his wife and children—including China, Tanzania, England and Macau. A variety of experiences from other cultures flavors the teaching and leadership Brown provides in the Mountain Quest Summer Camp program.
“As I have traveled and interacted with peoples—especially children—from all over the world, I realized that we all want the same things—to live a healthy and prosperous life in a healthy world,” said Brown. “I have also seen how our way of living in the developing worlds directly impacts these people—the fact that 80 percent of the world’s wealth is used by 20 percent of the world’s people, that the developing countries put their manufacturing plants overseas because those countries do not have environmental laws that they have to abide by.”
In his travels, Brown noted that there are few areas where the wilderness has been left unspoiled.
“I have seen the destruction of the environment in many places and how this destruction of the environment directly impacts the health and prosperity of those people,” he said. “I bring these observations into my conversations and also into activities I think are important for the children to do, those things which will hopefully stimulate an interest in protecting the earth, not only for our own survival and well being, but for our brothers and sisters that share this planet with us.”
Although he brings a sense of urgency to the plight of the planet, Brown also imparts a message of hope in his teachings.
“There are things we can do to help, and just getting out and developing that connection with nature is the first step,” he said.
Mountain Quest Summer Camp was a natural progression for the Blue Ridge Learning Centers that operates camps throughout the year for schools.
“We realized that there were not many camps for this sort of thing for 9- to 12-year-olds,” said Brown, “so we wanted to provide something for them. A mate of mine at Buffalo Cove offers Earth Camp for older children, but there wasn’t anything for the younger ones. In the future, if these camps are successful, we will offer one-week Earth Camps for this age group, where they can camp out for the whole time.”
Over the years—some 20 of them as an educator—Brown saw a longing in children for the natural world.
“Most children are longing for permission to play in the natural world,” he said, “to roll in the mud, to climb trees, to get wet in a river, to laugh out loud, no matter where they are from or how old they are. So I guess I bring with me the themes of that yearning for the inner child to play and have adventures, the concept of the oneness of humanity and love for the creatures that share the world with us, as well as the need for all of us, no matter our age, to get out into nature.”
One of the classes Brown added to the Mountain Quest program is distinctly his own—a slide show called Dingo’s World Walkabout.
“I would just encourage everyone to get their kids to do some sort of camp outdoors this summer, whether it’s the Mountain Quest one, Buffalo Cove or any of those being offered,” he said.
Each camp is limited to 28 participants and costs $550, a fee that includes transportation, lunch and fees. Discounts are available for siblings.
To register, contact Sabrina Crawford at 828-265-0602 or sabrina@bric.org.
The registration deadline for the first camp is Saturday, May 24. For the second session, the registration deadline is Saturday, June 4.